Problem with Drug Addiction

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The Problem with Drug Addiction

Isn’t a drug addict a person with weak character?

Addiction is a disease of the brain. Just like cancer changes the
function of a person’s lungs, drugs and alcohol change the function of
the brain. Each person is different. We all have unique genetic
makeup, unique emotional makeup, unique physical makeup, unique personal
histories and unique spiritual makeup. When the function of the brain
is altered by the substance, there can be a dramatic influence on the
behavior of the addict.

No One Wants to Become Addicted to Drugs or Alcohol!

One
of the symptoms of addiction is the craving for the drug. An otherwise
rational, controlled individual is compelled to seek and use the drug.
In order to feel good, in order to feel “normal,” the addict needs to
use. While there is an element of choice and personal responsibility
attached to addiction, it is all too easy just to say the addict is
addicted because they have a weak character.

Nobody
wants to be a drug addict. And who is a drug addict anyway? Addiction
does not limit itself to the poor, any particular cultural or ethnic
group, any race, nor does it care about age or profession.

Here’s
another way of looking at it. If you start from the premise that human
frailty can manifest itself in many ways, that we are all in a sense
“broken,” it is logical to assess that addiction is a disease of the
human condition.

There is an excellent Biblical
description of this. Even if you are not a Christian believer, the
logic of the example has valuable insight into the human condition.

In
the New Testament, the Book of Romans, Chapter 7, beginning with the
14th verse, the Apostle Paul unfolds a kind of spiritual tug-of-war. He
describes how he does not understand his own behavior. He wants to do
the right thing, but he doesn’t. He says he does what he hates. He
attributes his behavior to the sin living within him.

For the addict, even if they want to abstain, their behavior is driven by the addiction within them.

Paul,
who is the predominant writer of the New Testament, realizes his
helplessness. He appeals to God for the help he needs. In AA 12-Step,
the appeal goes out to a “power greater than ourselves.” Was Paul a man
of weak character? Christians will argue that he was a giant among the
Apostles. Certainly he was a man of strong character, but at the same
time, limited by the human condition.

It’s too easy to blame weak character. We are all limited by the human condition.

Drug addiction is a brain disease.

Drug
addiction is a brain disease. Every type of drug of abuse has its own
individual mechanism for changing how the brain functions.

But
regardless of which drug a person is addicted to, many of the effects
it has on the brain are similar: they range from changes in the
molecules and cells that make up the brain, to mood changes, to changes
in memory processes and thinking, and sometimes changes in motor skills
such as walking and talking. And these changes have a huge influence on
all aspects of a person's behavior.

A drug can become the
single most powerful motivator in a drug abuser's existence. He or she
will do almost anything for the drug. This comes about because drug use
has changed the individual's brain, their behavior, their social and
other functioning in critical ways.

Nodding off not making sense?

by Richard(Canada)

Taking percocet, morphine, zoloft, provalic, acid, xanax, and serequel.
Sleeping a lot nodding off not making sense to family and friends?

Bad Situationby: Ned Wicker

Dear Richard,

From what you are describing it is
difficult to ascertain whether it is you doing these drugs or somebody
else. In either case, this is not a healthy situation and if it is left
unchecked, will lead to serious consequences.

People don’t
just say “that’s it” and walk away from a drug habit, or to say the
least, very few can just quit cold turkey and not suffer a relapse.

A
substance use disorder is a brain disease that is not going to cure
itself, and people with the disease need treatment and a program for
recovery. There are no miracle cures, just good programs to help people
manage their disease and live a happy, healthy life.

Getting
back on the right path is entirely possible, but drug users don’t
believe they have a problem, so they are not the first in line to seek
treatment. They deny having the problem and avoid those who remind them
that there is an issue to be dealt with.

Your story is about
a person who is out of control. Something has to give. People doing
massive amounts of drugs can get treatment and become clean and sober.
Sadly, they can deny the problem, avoid any measure of personal
responsibility and commit suicide by the installment plan. It’s a sad
story, but it’s one repeated too many times across North America.

Those
with a substance use disorder should seek medical intervention. They
need to schedule a medical examination to determine their overall state
of health and get counsel on a treatment plan that makes sense.

There
are so many good programs out there, designed specifically to meet the
needs of the individual. People can and do successfully go through
treatment and enter into a recovery program, giving them the opportunity
to live a fulfilling life.

The drug use you describe is just a ticket to nothing.

and Finally Remember:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." - Matthew 7:7-8